Validators
Validators play a critical role in securing and maintaining the Laïka network. They act as the consensus mechanism's backbone, responsible for validating L2 transactions and participating in block production. This section dives into the functionalities and responsibilities of validators on Laika.
↝ Responsibilities
Laïka validators fulfill several key tasks:
Transaction Validation: Validators verify the legitimacy and validity of Laïka transactions based on the Laïka consensus protocol. This ensures only valid transactions are processed on the network.
Block Production: Validators participate in the block production process. They propose new blocks containing validated transactions and compete for the right to add them to the Laïka blockchain.
Sequencer Verification: Validators verify the work done by sequencers. They ensure sequencers have accurately included data proofs for Laïka transactions within Dogecoin transactions. This maintains the integrity and verifiability of Laïka transactions.
Validator Consensus: While Validators independently submit ZK Proofs to the smart contracts, they also verify the Proofs submitted by other validators to maintain consensus, in case of any mismatch the validators stop producing blocks until the issues are resolved.
Bridge Validation: As Doge is the primary currency on the Laïka Network , all Doge existing on Laïka has been bridged from the Dogecoin blockchain. Validators need to independently run their own Dogecoin nodes, and validate the balances between the L1 and L2 network to make sure Doge circulation on Laïka is always less than or equal to the amount of Doge held in Layer 1 vaults. This process also results in a stop in block production incase of any mismatch.
↝ Selection and Incentives
Laïka utilizes a permissioned or permissionless validator selection system (details to be confirmed in future documentation). Here's a general overview of the approaches:
Permissioned System (Initial Stage): In the initial stages, the Laïka team will manage a curated set of validators to ensure network stability and security during deployment.
Permissionless System (Future Goal): Laïka aims to transition towards a permissionless validator system where anyone can participate by staking Laïka tokens and/or Dogecoins. This incentivizes validators to contribute to network security and earn rewards.
↝ Rewards and Staking
Validators are rewarded for their contributions to the network. The specific reward structure will be documented in detail in the future, but it involves:
Transaction Fees: A portion of transaction fees collected on the Laïka network will be distributed to validators as rewards.
Block Rewards: Validators who successfully propose and add blocks to the Laïka chain will also receive additional token rewards in the form of Laïka tokens.
This section provides a foundational understanding of validators on Laïka.
